Haider and Big Business

["Owen Jones" <owen.jones@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 A report from the Guardian yesterday. On a more humorous note, the Guardian
yesterday reported that if you visit the site at http://www.fpo.at/ and
click on "English pages" at the bottom, you will get merely this sentence on
the page: "For our non german speaking guests we have a message in Engish:
Learn German or fuck off!" In actual fact, this is a fake web site imitating
the real one at http://www.fpoe.at/ , but it's humorous enough. I'm just
glad that nobody is going to support Haider for being an anti-imperialist
(only joking, don't take that seriously!)

 Cheers - Owen

----
Haider race to power was helped by Reebok

The Austrian far right in power: special report

John Hooper in Berlin and Jan Fossgard
Thursday February 10, 2000
The Guardian

The Austrian far-right leader, Jörg Haider, was helped at a critical stage
in his party's rise to power by the Austrian subsidiary of the sports and
leisurewear giant Reebok.

The firm yesterday acknowledged that Reebok Austria had "provided support
for the production of The Jörg Haider Video" six years ago. It said the help
had
been given without the knowledge of the group's parent company, which had
secured the resignation of Reebok Austria's general manager after learning
of
its subsidiary's involvement in the project.

Mr Haider's athletic prowess is a key ingredient in the daredevil, macho
image he has projected so successfully to the Austrian public. In November
he
claimed to have completed the New York marathon in less than four hours,
though the race official Alan Steinfeld said "we have no record of him
running".

Mr Haider has been at the centre of an international furore over his Freedom
party's entry into government as an equal partner in coalition with the
mainstream conservatives. The inclusion of ministers from Mr Haider's
movement triggered an unprecedented decision by other European Union states
to
cut bilateral links with Austria.

Reebok Austria's involvement in promoting him was sharply at odds with the
group's image as a firm dedicated to the cause of racial integration. It
claims to
have been the first company in its field to have left South Africa in
protest against apartheid, in 1986.

The US sportswear giant has given money to a number of liberal causes, and
funds a human rights foundation and human rights awards. Reebok's literature
proclaims: "Human rights are at the centre of our corporate culture."

In the year the video was made, Mr Haider demanded tough measures to rid
Austria of illegal immigrants. They included systematic identity checks,
more
detention centres and special deportation flights.

He had been emboldened by two stunning electoral victories. In March he
swept back to power as governor of the southern province of Carinthia - a
post he
had left three years earlier after an outcry over his praise of Adolf
Hitler's employment policies. In October, at a general election, his party's
share of the
vote soared to 23%, netting it 42 of the 183 seats in parliament.

A statement from Reebok International said: "In 1994, Reebok Austria
provided support for the production of The Jörg Haider Video without the
knowledge
of Reebok International. Upon learning of the video, Reebok International
conducted a formal investigation into the matter and then promptly asked for
the
resignation of the general manager of Reebok Austria. He then left the
company."

A spokeswoman for Reebok International was unable to say how much Reebok's
support had been worth. In 1999 Reebok sold goods worth $3bn and made
profits of $50m. Its brands include Rockports, Ralph Lauren footwear and the
Greg Norman collection of golfing apparel.